Two Italian Boys Fall Winter 2013-14 - Photo courtesy of press office

Two Italian Boys Fall Winter 2013-14 - Photo courtesy of press office

Two Italian Boys Fall Winter 2013-14 - Photo courtesy of press office

Ruggiero Cortellino lived in Puglia until he finished high school. He moved to Milan to study Economics at Bocconi University and maintained his amateur and curious bond with fashion. At 27 he set up his own brand, Two Italian Boys.

The Spring Summer 2014 collection is based on the concept of badly matched. The wrong combinations challenge the lessons on style embedded in the minds of men.

From a 70s prints private archive he extracted four original patterns in bright, impactful hues. Micro-prints and micro-patterns, tie-style, that recall the elegant excesses of Milan’s aristocracy, on calico, in limited edition.

The freak-bourgeois mood is also see on printed and dyed fabrics featuring floral motifs. Refined luxury also visible on the tops, super-lightweight, in a silk and cashmere mix. And then embroidered shirts, ties, clutches, bow-ties and lace-up shoes in gold, silver, bronze and metallic blue with lightweight white Vibram soles. Each element is expressly conceived to harmonize the color diversity. Lots of outerwear garments: from the mackintosh to the double-breasted model, from the field jacket to the Harrington jacket, wearable, linear and sleek.

Born inBarletta, Italy, on 7 October 1984

The professional turning point…“At Pitti, last June. I think that the press and the buyers gave the brand an attention they had never shown before.”

The strongest point of your designs…“Italian taste, in pattern-making, blended with design with an international attitude.”

Men and fashion“The taste of men has evolved; they are more and more focused on details. I also think that a man is looking for freedom, being able to combine pieces of different typologies. This is also a goal of Two Italian Boys: following a logical aesthetic line that allows us to mix different pieces together.”

Fashions designers you admire…“Marc Jacobs for the visual impact of his projects and Riccardo Tisci strictly in terms of fashion design.”

Who would you like to dress?“Colin Firth and Bradley Cooper. The former is very formal, the latter more laid-back. I believe they represent very well the two complementary sides of my brand.”